Steam Powered
by UK-824
Summary: Natsu wants to go on a job but Lucy's sick. Mira shakes things up by suggesting he go with Juvia. Opposites in almost every way, what shenanigans will they get in to? Natsu and Juvia friendship, slight Gruvia and Nalu. Set before tartarus arc. Final chapter is up!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1- A new team.**

"What's wrong, Natsu?" Mira asked. It was a relatively normal day in the Fairy Tail guild. After winning the Grand Magic Games, the guild was abuzz with job requests but today was a quiet day. Quiet because one of the more rambunctious mages was, for lack of a better word, sulking.

"Looshy's shick." Natsu mumbled. It came out strange because his head was down on the table counter.

"Natsu, put your head up, I can't understand you." Mira said, Natsu did so.

"Lucy's sick and I wanted to go on a job. It was a really good one too."

"Aww, poor girl. What's the job?" Mira asked. Natsu took the request out and handed it to her, then went back to sulking.

"Fire Kraken in Hargeon towns harbor is stopping trade, fishing , and export. Will pay 100,000 jewels to mages who can stop it." Mira read aloud. "Wow, a Fire Kraken is pretty rare."

"Yeah, it'd be fun to fight. I wanted Lucy to come because she could summon Aquarius and we'd take it down!" Natsu said, regaining some of his usual enthusiasm. "But she's sick."

"There, there, Natsu. I'm sure she didn't get sick on purpose." Mira said, thinking a bit before suggesting "if you need a water mage, why not ask Juvia?"

"Juvia?" Natsu wondered aloud, sitting up straight.

"Of course! She's the best water mage we have."

"Hmm, I dunno. I don't really know her that well…" Natsu pondered.

"Then this will be a good opportunity for you to bond will your guild mate." Mira said cheerfully. Natsu pondered for a second before deciding.

"Alright! Thanks, Mira." Natsu said before going off to find her.

"Hmm. If I were Juvia, where would I be?" Natsu wondered, trying to scan the guild hall for her.

"Natsuuuu!" Happy called out, flying towards him and landing on his head.

"Yo, Happy."

"You're not sad anymore, is Lucy not sick anymore?"

"No, she's still sick. But we're still going on the job."

"Really? How?"

"We're gonna get Juvia to come with us."

"Oh, Mira has great ideas."

"Hey, what if I had the idea!?" Natsu complained.

"Did you?"

"N-no…" Natsu admitted.

"See, I was right." Happy gloated.

"Whatever, just help me find her." Natsu asked. The two looked around before Happy spoke up.

"Over there!" he said, pointing to Gray.

"Happy, that's just Gray."

"Yeah, but wherever Gray is, Juvia must be close by." Happy pointed out.

"Hm, you're right." Natsu agreed and headed over to the table where Gray and Cana were sitting.

"Yo, Natsu, Happy." Cana greeted.

"Hey, Cana."

"What do you want, flame brain?" Gray asked.

"Nothin' from you, ice prick." Natsu shot back. "I'm looking for Juvia. You seen her?" Natsu asked. Gray seemed surprised that Natsu asked for her.

"Juvia? Why are you looking for her?" he asked.

"Wanna ask her something."

"What are you asking her?" Gray asked, a little too quickly.

"Gonna ask her if she wants to go on a job." Natsu answered. Gray seemed to calm down a little.

"Tch, she's behind that pillar." Gray pointed out. Natsu followed his direction and saw her peeking her head out behind the pillar, looking intently at Gray.

"Right, thanks." Natsu said, going to her. Gray turned his head to follow.

"Yo, Juvia." Natsu greeted.

"Natsu-san? H-hello." Juvia said, confused as to why Natsu would approach her.

"Something wrong?" Natsu asked.

"She's confused because you two don't really talk." Happy said.

"Happy is right. Sorry, Natsu-san but Juvia is a bit confused. Is there something you need?" she asked.

"Well, we're talking now, right? And yeah, wanna come with us on a job?" Natsu asked, handing her the request form. Juvia took it and read it.

"Fire Kraken? Juvia has only seen one before."

"Yeah, sounds fun, right? Wanna come?"

"Why ask Juvia? Why not Lucy?"

"Lucy's sick so she can't go. Mira said that I should ask you 'cause you're the best water mage we have."

"Isn't Juvia the only water mage Fairy Tail has?"

"Nah, we got a couple guys. But Mira's right, you're the best we got."

"Juvia is flattered, Natsu-san." She replied, blushing slightly at the praise.

"No, problem. So what do you think, wanna come?" Natsu asked. Juvia thought about it for a second.

"Ok, Natsu-san. Juvia will go. It will be fun to go on a job with you. When do we leave?"

"Great, thanks. Hargeon's not too far away, maybe a half hour on the tr-trian." Natsu said, already feeling ill just mentioning the train. Juvia noticed and giggled.

"It's ok, Natsu-san. We can walk." She offered. Natsu perked up immediately.

"Really?" Natsu asked hopefully.

"Sure. Juvia doesn't like using the train either, the vibrations from the train make Juvia's water body act weird." She told him.

"Ahahah, you're the best, Juvia!" Natsu said, picking up Juvia in a bear hug. This caused Gray to spit out his drink and almost fall over. Cana thought that was hilarious.

"Come on, Happy! We gotta pack! We'll pick you up from Fairy Hills in an hour, Juvia." Natsu said, racing off to get ready. Juvia laughed to herself a little from Natsu's antics and was about to go and pack but saw Gray coming towards her.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia said, surprised that he came to her when it was usually the other way around.

"Hey, Juvia. What did Natsu want?" Gray asked, a little nervously, but hid it well.

"Oh, um, Natsu-san asked Juvia to go on a job with him and she agreed."

"Oh, good, that's good. Yeah… good." Gray said, calming down a little.

"Is everything ok, Gray-sama?" Juvia asked.

"Hmm? No, yeah everything's fine. Just wanted to see what the hot-head wanted. Where are you two going?"

"We're going to Hargeon to get rid of a Fire Kraken."

"Oh hey, don't see those every day."

"Right, Juvia has only seen one."

"Yeah? That must have been, uh, fun."

"Gray, stop flirting with Juvia, you're horrible at it." Cana teased. This effectively caused Gray to stammer and Juvia to almost faint.

"Ca-Cana, I'm not, I mean, no but-"

"Gray-sama is flirting with Juvia?" she practically shrieked.

"Dammit, Cana!" Gray bellowed.

"Bwahahahahahahaha!" Cana let out, clearly pleased with the reaction.

"Look, Juvia, I'm not flirting with you." Gray tried to fix.

"Oh, you're not…?" Juvia said, a bit downtrodden.

"No, just, gahhh" Gray groaned before continuing "I just wanted to say, good luck on your job, and be safe."

"Really?" Juvia asked, hopefully.

"Yeah, don't let that idiot slow you down, ok?"

"Yes, Gr-Gray-sama!" Juvia replied, red faced. She headed out the guild hall to get ready for the job, leaving Gray bemused. "Why was she so red?" he wondered aloud.

"Gray, your clothes." Cana pointed out.

"Hmm?" Gray looked down and say that he was buck naked. "Dammit, my clothes!"

"Shouldn't it really be 'dammit, my pants' by now? You barely ever wear a shirt anymore, stripper." Gajeel pointed out from his table with team shadow gear. Well, more like him, Lily and Levy at one table while Jet and Droy glare it him from afar. He was met with an ice ball in his face.

"Shut it, tin head! You wanna go?!" Gray challenged.

"You're damn right, but put on your pants already you damn pervert!" Gajeel roared, watching as Gray fumbled with his pants. The second he got them on, Gray got smacked with an iron rod and he and Gajeel got into the first, but certainly not last, brawl of the day.

 **(A/N thanks for giving this a read. This is my first Fairy Tail fic, so that's a thing. If you liked it, leave a review! or don't, it's your choice.)**


	2. The Rain Woman and Natsu learns love

**Chapter 2- The Rain Woman and Natsu learns about love.**

Sure enough, Juvia saw Natsu an hour later waiting for her at the gates of Fairy Hills.

"Natsu-san, you're here." Juvia said, surprised.

"Yeah, why do you sound surprised?"

"Well, Juvia just thought Natsu-san was the type of person who would show up whenever. Juvia is sorry." She apologized, slightly embarrassed.

"Ahh, don't worry about it. Me an' Happy always go to Lucy's place early before a job to sneak in, she gets really surprised. It's fun!" Natsu grinned.

"Really? She lets you?"

"Well, not really… we sometimes get her doing weird things."

"Such as?"

"Well, this one time me an' Happy snuck into her bed, she has the most comfy bed ever, and it was so nice, we fell asleep. Then she came in and freaked out when she saw us there. Apparently, she just got out of the shower so she was really spooked. It was really funny." Natsu laughed at the memory, causing Juvia to giggle at the thought. Then she remembered something.

"Natsu-san, where's Happy?"

"Oh, before we got here, we visited Lucy to see how she was doing. She's still sick but she wants to do stuff but can't, so Happy stayed behind to look after her. She says 'hi' and 'good luck', whatever that meant." Natsu frowned, causing Juvia to giggle again.

"Juvia appreciates the advice. Should we get going? Hargeon is about two hours away by walking."

"Yeah, let's go." Natsu said, leading her out. The two mages walked together in silence through Magnolia for a while before Natsu got bored.

"Gaaaaaahhhhh! How much longer?!" Natsu groaned.

"We've only been walking for 20 minutes, Natsu-san."

"Really? Only 20? Man, it feels like it's been longer than that."

"Sorry, if Juvia is boring you." Juvia said, a bit too normal for Natsu's liking.

"No, sorry, it's not that!" Natsu quickly explained. "It's just, usually me, Happy, an' Lucy are talking or I'm trying not to barf on the train when we go out for jobs. So I'm usually doing something on the way."

"But you are bored?" Juvia pondered. Natsu scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously.

"Y-yeah I guess. But it's not because of you, Juvia, I promise."

"Alright, if you promise."

"Yeah. But now that I think about it, Mira was right, we don't really know that much about each other. And we're guild mates!"

"Juvia supposes it's only natural. Natsu- san has been a part of the guild for a long time, along with many other members. Juvia hasn't been with Fairy Tail for long."

"That's no excuse for me not to know my guild mate! C'mon, tell me about yourself." Natsu asked.

"R-really? Juvia doesn't have that interesting of a story to tell."

"No way! A badass mage like you has to have a story. C'mon, spill." Natsu egged on. Juvia smiled and relented.

"Alright, if you insist. Well, Juvia was born quite far from Magnolia and her parents loved her very much and Juvia loved them. But they were very busy people, father was a business man and mother was a writer and when Juvia was around 4, she left alone a lot. That's when Juvia found out she could use water magic, mother and father were so proud and tried to help me learn more. They encouraged it but couldn't help Juvia advance, but Juvia was happy that her parents were proud and she worked hard to keep them proud."

"Wow, that young? That's really impressive, Juvia." Natsu said, clearly impressed. Juvia smiled at the praise.

"Thank you, Natsu-san."

"You're welcome. What happened next?"

"That's when other kids found out Juvia could use magic. Where Juvia was from, magic was especially rare so they thought Juvia was a freak. That's when the rain started following Juvia and it only made the kids hate her more. Juvia started making teru teru bozu dolls, she heard that they could make the rain stop but they never did, but Juvia never gave up. Juvia's parents heard about her bullying and sent her to her uncle. He's a mage so they thought he could help Juvia and he did. Her uncle used to be part of a guild so he had a lot of experience in magic and he helped Juvia learn more about her magic and helped Juvia master her water body."

"You know, I've always been kinda curious about that? How does your water body work? The only other person I know that can turn into their magic is Laxus. And Gajeel too, I guess. And that's stupid 'cause if they can do, I should too!" Natsu pouted. Juvia giggled at the face he was making.

"Juvia doesn't really know herself, honestly. Her uncle thinks that it's because she has a deep connection to water and understands it on such a high level."

"Well, Igneel taught me all about fire, but I can't turn into it!"

"That's right, Natsu-san was raised by a dragon." Juvia remembered. Natsu grinned proudly.

"Yep! The one and only Igneel, the fire dragon king!" Natsu proclaimed.

"King? Wow, would you mind telling Juvia about that?" she asked.

"Sure! But you gotta finish your story first, ok?" Natsu prompted, Juvia nodded.

"Right! Juvia stayed with her uncle for a few years while he taught her magic and after a few years, she went back home. But when she did, she discovered that a dark guild had come and attacked most of the town. Juvia's parents were killed in the attack." Juvia said sadly.

"Oh man, I'm sorry." Natsu said.

"It's ok, Natsu-san. Juvia accepted it a long time ago, but it still hurts to think about." She trailed off. Natsu stayed quiet to give her time. Not too long after, she continued.

"After the funeral, Juvia moved back with her uncle but she didn't stay for too long as she didn't want to bring the rain with her to her uncle and so she moved to Oak town. Juvia started dating a mage named Bora for a short time, but it didn't last long."

"Bora? Kinda tall guy with a weird tattoo over his right eye?" Natsu asked.

"Yes. You know him Natsu-san?" Juvia asked. Natsu laughed a little.

"Yeah, he's actually how I met Lucy. The guy was using my name too, can you believe it? Like he's good enough to be 'The Salamander'. Kicked his ass, no problem at all." Natsu boasted. Juvia laughed at the thought as well.

"True, he wasn't a very impressive mage."

"Right? Anyway, keep going."

"Right. Juvia became an independent mage for a while before she was approached by master Jose. He said that Juvia was a skilled mage and invited her to join Phantom Lord. It was the first time someone outside of Juvia's family was accepting of her so she joined. It was there that she met Gajeel-kun and became friends with him. He was the only one who was willing to go on jobs with her, everyone else was bothered by the rain. Gajeel-kun was actually the one who recommended Juvia to be an S-class mage to Jose. He agreed and Juvia became a member of the Element Four. A few months later, Phantom Lord waged war against Fairy Tail and I was forced to battle my beloved Gray-sama. He was the one who made Juvia's rain go away and showed her the sun. Ever since then, Juvia has loved Gray-sama with all her heart. After that, Juvia went with Natsu-san and friend to the tower of heaven and joined Fairy Tail." Juvia finished.

"You really love him with all your heart?" Natsu asked.

"Of course! Gray-sama is Juvia's one and only!" she strongly proclaimed.

"But what about the others?"

"Others?" Juvia asked, confused.

"Yeah. Like the rest of the guild, Lucy, Cana, and even Gajeel? Don't they have part of your heart too?" Natsu asked, genuinely confused. This stumped Juvia. Of course she loved Gajeel-kun and other members of the guild. It was a different kind of love than the one she held for her Gray-sama, but she could see where Natsu was coming from.

"Juvia supposes you're right, Natsu-san. But the kind of love Juvia has for Gray-sama is different than the love she has for others."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"There is more than one kind of love, Natsu-san. You really don't know?"

"Well, Igneel told me about love, yeah. He said it was a strong feeling you have for others that you like. That you'd do anything to protect them and make happy. He didn't say there were different kinds, though."

"Well, there's a love that you have towards people close to you. Like your family and friends, the Fairy Tail guild, for example. You love them, right?" Juvia tried to explain.

"Yeah!"

"That's a kind of love you feel for family. You love them as people and you care for them very deeply. This is when you love someone. Is Juvia making sense so far?"

"Yeah, sorta."

"Then there's when you're _in_ love with someone."

"What's the difference between loving someone and when you're _in_ love with someone?"

"When you're in love with someone… it's hard for Juvia to explain." She started, taking a pause to come up with a way to explain to the Dragon Slayer. When she gathered her thoughts, she began.

"When you're in love with someone, it feels different than what you'd feel for someone like family. When you see them, you start to feel differently, like you're scared and nervous, like there is a fluttering in your heart but you like it. Every little thing that person does makes you feel that way a little bit more. It's a romantic love that you share with someone that you cherish, different from a parent or sibling. You're heart and feelings invest in their own."

"My heart and feelings invest in another persons, huh?" Natsu said to himself, trying to understand what Juvia was saying.

"Do you understand, Natsu-san?"

"I… I think so. Loving someone in a way that feels different and kinda weird, right?" Natsu asked, beginning to understand.

"Yes, Juvia supposes that's one way. That's how Juvia feels about Gray-sama." Juvia exclaimed. "It's also how Alzak and Bisca fell towards each other." she said as an after thought, hoping this would help.

"So I want to stalk them?" Natsu asked. Juvia sweat-dropped.

"Not- not exactly…"

"Ok, I think I get it. Maybe." Natsu said.

"Really?" Juvia asked, not expecting him to get it so soon. "Does Natsu-san feel this way towards someone?" Juvia asked.

"I… I don't know…" Natsu said, truly unsure. The two stopped walking then, allowing Natsu to process his thoughts.

"Juvia won't push if Natsu-san is unsure, but if he doesn't mind, could Natsu-san tell Juvia about Igneel?" Juvia asked, reminding him of their deal. This snapped Natsu out of his head.

"Oh, right. Yeah! Hmmm, where to start. Well howbout this. Igneel was a bastard."

 **(A/N. Chapter 2 is up! I also want to say a huge thank you to those that read chapter one, the response was more than I was expecting. Like always, if you want, leave a review)**


	3. The Dragons child and arrival at Hargeon

**Chapter 3- The dragons child and arrival at Hargeon.**

"Igneel was a bastard." Natsu stated.

"…What?" Juvia asked.

"Yeah. The old fart almost killed me more times than I can count when he was teaching me magic. It was easier fighting the dragons after the games than it was him!" Natsu complained.

"Really? He was that strong?"

"Hell yeah! But after a while I got my hits in. That was when I really started to come in to my magic."

"That reminds Juvia. Why would a dragon teach you magic designed to kill them?" she asked, always curious since she met Gajeel.

"Well, Igneel said that it wasn't magic made to kill dragons. It's really just the same magic used by dragons. Zilconis said that dragons taught humans their magic to win a war 400 years ago."

"Gajeel-kun told Juvia about that. Wasn't he also one of the dragons we fought?"

"Yeah. I was really surprised too. But we got through it with everyone's help."

"Didn't Natsu-san fight alongside with a dragon?" Juvia remembered. Natsu grinned.

"Yup! Uncle Atlas Flame."

"Uncle?"

"Yeah. He's friends with Igneel. When I told him I was Igneel's son, he joined us. When two fire dragons team up, we can't lose!" Natsu bragged.

"Wow, Igneel sounds very impressive." Juvia said. Natsu smiled softly.

"Yeah, he was. You remember the dragons and their attacks?"

"Of course. Juvia won't be able to forget that soon."

"Well, Igneel could've beaten them all no problem!"

"Really?" Juvia was surprised. "He's really that strong?"

"Oh yeah! He's the fire dragon king for a reason!"

"Did you know he was king?" Juvia asked. Natsu looked a little embarrassed.

"Umm, not until uncle Atlas told me, but still!" Natsu tried to recover. Juvia laughed.

"Of course, Natsu-san. Wait, if Igneel is a king, does that make Natsu-san a prince?" Juvia asked. Natsu thought about it for a second before breaking out into a wide grin.

"Kakakaka! I guess I am! Natsu Dragneel, fire dragon prince. Take that, Gray! Kakakaka!" Natsu bragged. Juvia silently regretted telling Natsu this.

"Right, Natsu-san. If you wouldn't mind, how did you meet Igneel? Were you separated from your birth parents and found him?" Juvia asked. Natsu calmed down from his royal stupor and answered.

"I actually can't remember my birth parents. Earliest thing I can remember is getting lost in a forest. Wandered around there for a few days before I started hearing weird noises. I went closer to the noises and I saw that parts of the forest was burned and stuff. I kept going on and saw a huge red thing move through trees. Next thing I know, I'm staring at a giant dragon ass." Natsu said to Juvia's confusion.

"Um, shouldn't the saying be… 'giant ass dragon'? I know that's how Gajeel-kun would say it." Natsu sighed.

"No. first time I saw Igneel, it was his butt." Natsu admitted. It was quiet for a good five seconds before Juvia burst out laughing.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Natsu tried to defend himself but Juvia was now hunched over from laughter.

"J-Juvia is sorry, Natsu-san, but it is!" Juvia said between laughs. Natsu pouted and waited for her to calm down. Juvia did eventually and Natsu helped her up.

"You done?" Natsu asked.

"Y-yes. Juvia is sorry, Natsu-san, but she couldn't help it. Dragon butt." Juvia giggled out.

"Look, just. Don't tell the guild, ok? Please? For me?" Natsu asked. He knew that if the guild found it, he'd never live it down.

"Juvia doesn't know, Natsu-san. This is pretty valuable information. Juvia could use this to her advantage." Juvia teased. Natsu was worried but then suddenly grinned evilly. It worried Juvia a bit.

"Ok, whatever you say. But before you do, tell me this. Did Gray at least buy you food before he-"

"NATSU-SAN!" Juvia cut him off, completely red faced. Now it was Natsu's turn to laugh.

"H- how does Natsu-san know about that?!" Juvia demanded.

"After the phantom war we all talked about our fights. Gray was kinda embarrassed about his fight so Cana got it out of him, eventually."

"D-does everyone know about that?" Juvia asked.

"No, just me, Cana, Elfman, an' Erza. And you an' Gray cause you two-" again, Natsu was cut off.

"OK. Juvia is glad it's not the whole guild."

"Now will you keep that a secret?" Natsu asked.

"Yes, only if Natsu-san keeps that a secret." Natsu offered his hand and Juvia shook it in agreement.

"Deal."

"Thank you, Natsu-san. What else did Igneel teach you?" Juvia asked.

"Well, I told you he taught me about fire, right?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, that really helped me. Most people think that fire's just hot and burns stuff, ya know?" Natsu asked. Juvia nodded. Honestly, she didn't think too much of fire, with her being water and all.

"Well, yeah it does that, but it's so much more. Igneel taught me that fire gives warmth, it gives light. It helps us survive, it gives life ya know. People never seem to think about that."

"Juvia must admit, she never thought about that."

"It's ok. But as much as fire can give, it can take away just as much too. Igneel melted a giant boulder to nothing once. He didn't even use an attack, just breathed a little fire on it. When he was teaching me the Secret Arts, we burned an entire forest down. Now that I think about it, not one of our finer moments. Heheh." Natsu chuckled.

"Wait, does Natsu-san mean the fire that burned down all of juniper forest? That was you and Igneel?" she asked. Juvia remembered the news of that from years ago.

"Is that what that place was called?"

"Yes! That fire consumed over 300 miles of forest territory! The nearby townspeople described it as a raging inferno caused by the anger of the gods!" Juvia exclaimed. Natsu scratched the back of his head and grinned nervously.

"Heheh, yeah, me an' Igneel were real sorry about that. He helped put out fire an' Igneel used some of his magic to help the forest recover. Too bad we had to go to a different place, I liked it there." Natsu said nonchalantly. Juvia was taken aback. She knew that Natsu and dragons were strong, but to decimate an entire forest like that with seemingly no issue? Had she been underestimating just how strong he really was? Natsu snapped her out of her musings.

"But after we moved, he taught me other things. Like how to read an' write. He taught me how to hunt for food. He took care of me when I got sick, told me stories about his adventures." Natsu said, smiling solemnly as he remembered the times he shared with the dragon. "He's my dad. And I will find him!" Natsu stated with absolute conviction. Juvia couldn't help but smile.

"Juvia hopes you do, Natsu-san." She said sincerely.

"Thanks, Juvia." Natsu said. The two walked in comfortable silence as they made their way to Hargeon.

"Natsu-san, do you still know where to go? It's getting dark out." Juvia asked.

"Yeah, my eyes are better than most, dragon senses and that stuff. But if you can't see, lemme just do this." Natsu said as he grabbed a stick off the ground and lit it on fire with a quick breath.

"Ta-daaaa. **Fire dragon's torch**." Natsu joked, causing Juvia to laugh.

"That's very handy, Natsu-san."

"Yup! Gotta love fire." Natsu grinned. The two walked on the path to Hargeon in a comfortable silence before Natsu spoke up.

"Juvia, get ready. We're being followed."

"Right." Juvia answered, used to this due to her missions with Gajeel. Soon enough, four men came out of the trees and stopped in front of them, each of them big and burly with various weapons on them.

"Bandits." Juvia whispered, Natsu nodded. The leader of the group came forward.

"Woah there you two. This here is a toll road. You gotta pay up." He said smugly, holding out his hand for money.

"Sorry, we don't have any jewels." Natsu said evenly.

"Well, I'm sure your friend here can provide… other ways to pay." The man said, eyeing Juvia lecherously.

"Juvia would never be so desperate." She replied, earning a grin from Natsu.

"Aww, don't be like that lady. I'm sure we'll have a great time."

"She said no, asshole." Natsu countered. This made the man angry.

"Ok then. Boys! Let's teach these two what happens when they don't pay up." The leader called out. Natsu's grin grew wider and he dropped his torch as his hands burst into flame.

"Alright! I've been itchin' for a good fight!" he said. The bandits took a few steps back in surprise.

"Oh, shit! Mages!" one of the bandits yelled out.

"Wait, that mark… they're from Fairy Tail! And the guy with pink hair is the Salamander!" one of the bandits said.

"It's salmon!" Natsu defended.

"That makes the girl the Spirit Mage." Another bandit said, seemingly familiar with his team.

"Doesn't she have blonde hair, though? This one called herself Juvia, that name's familiar."

"I know why, she's the Rain Woman. Juvia of the Deep!" another bandit shrieked. The leader seemed somewhat scared to recognize these names, but still tried to keep his composure.

"It doesn't matter who they are! They still gotta pay for disrespecting us!" he said as he swing a sword at Natsu, who easily dodged it and got in close with his fist aflame.

" **Fire dragon's iron fist!** " Natsu roared out, sending the lead bandit flying away, unconscious on contact. The rest of the bandits just watched their leader as he soared through the sky.

"Alright, next!" Natsu challenged. The bandits paled.

"We're sorry! We'll leave you alone, sorry for bothering you!" the bandits shrieked as they ran away.

"Hey! Get back here and fight, you bastards!" Natsu called out, getting ready to give chase.

"Natsu-san, they're already gone and we have to get to the town soon." Juvia reminded.

"Aww. You sure we can't just go after them and-"

"No." Juvia sternly said.

"Fine!" Natsu pouted.

"Juvia is sorry, Natsu-san, but we must get to the town soon. The kraken could attack at anytime." Juvia explained.

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to fight something. Didn't get to do that back at the guild." Natsu said.

"It's ok, Natsu-san. You'll get to fight the kraken when we get to Hargeon." Juvia reassured. Natsu instantly perked up.

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot. Thanks, Juvia." Natsu laughed. Juvia sweat-dropped a bit because _that was the job they were doing!_ Not too long after the bandits, the two mages eventually entered Hargeon town. They entered the mayor's office to get briefed on the job. He was an elderly fellow, average height but a bit chubby with graying hair. Though the man had an air of kindness around him.

"Thank you for taking this job, you two. That kraken has been holding up our boats for quite some time. We haven't had this much delay since… well since that incident seven years ago." The mayor said, causing Natsu to tense. Fortunately, Juvia either didn't notice, or just didn't press on it.

"You're welcome. Now, how long has the kraken been attacking the harbor?" Juvia asked.

"For about a month and a half. Usually it would just wait outside the harbor for the ships to approach it, but lately it's been coming closer and closer to the harbor."

"Does it attack every day?" Natsu asked.

"Oh heavens no. We would be in much more trouble if it did. The attacks seem to happen once a week or so." The mayor informed.

"When was the last one?" Juvia asked.

"Five days ago. The beast destroyed three of our ships. Fortunately, no one was injured."

"So it might not attack tomorrow?" Natsu asked.

"It might, it might not. We made this job request because we couldn't afford to hope that it would just go away on its own."

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Juvia asked.

"Sadly, that is all we know. Now it's late. The two of you must have had a long trip if you arrived this late. I've arranged for you to stay at one of our hotels. Don't worry, it won't come from your reward. If you'd like, we can also put you somewhere else."

"Thank you, but the hotel should be fine. Two rooms, yes?" Juvia asked.

"Yes. Fifth floor at the Sycamore hotel. The nightly rate is usually 2500 jewels a night, but for you two, we can make it 1600. A show of appreciation for taking on this job." The mayor said.

"Thanks, old man!" Natsu said.

"That is very kind of you. Juvia has heard great things about the hotel." Juvia thanked him, though with less enthusiasm than Natsu.

"It's no problem at all. Feel free to explore the town until the kraken shows up. And once again, the town of Hargeon thanks you for taking this job." The mayor said, shaking both their hands as they got up to leave. Before they could, the mayor spoke up again.

"Oh, and Mr. Dragneel. We would very much appreciate it if we didn't have a repeat of last time you came to visit." He said. Natsu rubbed his head and chuckled nervously while Juvia just looked at him, confused.

"Eheheheh. I'll try. Sorry about that, by the way." Natsu apologized.

"After what you and your guild went through, no hard feelings. Just, do try to attempt it doesn't happen again." The mayor asked.

"I'll try my hardest." Natsu promised.

"Good man. Well, I've kept you long enough, good night, you two." The mayor said. The two of them then walked to the hotel.

"Natsu-san. What did the mayor mean when he said 'a repeat of last time'?" Juvia asked.

"Well, you see… this is the town where I met Lucy. And the town where I beat Bora. And I beat Bora because he was gonna kidnap Lucy along with other girls. I might have gone a bit… too far. Eheheheh." Natsu sheepishly explained. Juvia just sighed.

"Did Natsu-san destroy the harbour?" Juvia asked, already knowing the answer.

"Just a little bit."

"Natsu-san." Juvia said more sternly.

"Ok, maybe a lotta bit." He confessed as the two went entered the hotel lobby.

"Hello. The mayor said he arranged for us to have rooms here. Natsu Dragneel and Juvia Lockser." Juvia introduced.

"Ahh, yes. The mages. Just one moment." The woman behind the desk said as she turned around. A second later she turned back around, holding two keys. "These are your room keys, fifth floor, rooms 54 and 55. Please enjoy your stay." The women said kindly.

"Thank you." Juvia replied. The then headed off to their rooms.

"Man, I can't wait to fight that kraken tomorrow." Natsu said, stretching his arms.

"The mayor said it might not attack. You might have to wait, Natsu-san." Juvia reminded.

"But it also might attack too! You have be more positive, Juvia."

"Juvia should hope a kraken will attack the harbor?"

"Yup!" Natsu replied with his usual grin, making Juvia laugh a bit.

"Well, here are the rooms. We should probably sleep, been a long day." Natsu said, yawning slightly. Juvia nodded.

"Right, Juvia is also tired from the trip. Good night, Natsu-san."

"G'night, Juvia."

 **(A/N. BIG thank you to all those that read and reviewed the last chapters. Y'all simply amazing. We're now around the halfway point of the story so you can expect 2-3 more chapters. I'm already writing chapter 4 and if things go well, I can put in up within a week. Like always, leave a review if you want.)**


	4. Beach Party?

**Chapter 4- Beach Party?**

Juvia woke up the next day feeling refreshed and relaxed. Usually she wouldn't, but the bed was so comfy she lied down for a few more minutes. Then she remembered that the town could get attacked at any minute so she quickly did her morning routine and got ready. After she was done, she left the room and decided to see if Natsu was up so she knocked on his door.

"Natsu-san." Juvia called as she knocked.

"Natsu-san." She tried again. She was about to knock again when one of the staff members came up to her.

"Miss? If you're looking for the young man with the scarf, he left his room a few hours ago." She told her.

"Oh, thank you." Juvia replied curtly. She then went back down to the lobby where she ran into Natsu.

"Yo, Juvia! Finally up, are ya?" Natsu called over.

"Good morning to you too, Natsu-san. And yes, Juvia woke up a while ago."

"You have breakfast yet? This place has a great buffet."

"Not yet. Natsu-san has already eaten, then?"

"Yeah, when I woke up a few hours ago. I'm a little hungry now though, this place has a great gym."

"Is that what Natsu-san has been doing?"

"Yeah. Morning's a great time to work out. Wanna eat?" he offered. Juvia smiled and nodded. Natsu led her to the hotel's restaurant, where sure enough, there was a breakfast buffet. Juvia could see that there were plates upon plates of food.

"Wow, Natsu-san. You were right. There's so much food!"

"Heh, not for long." Natsu said, grinning evilly, causing Juvia to worry slightly.

"Really, Natsu-san? All that?" Juvia asked, eying the giant stack of food Natsu had in front of him.

"Yeah! This is actually less than what I'd normally get, but this is my second meal today." Natsu said as he dug in.

"Juvia doesn't know if she should be worried or impressed." She mumbled to herself.

"Is that all you're gonna eat?" Natsu asked, looking at her one plate.

"For now, yes. Juvia will just get more when she's finished with this plate."

"Why not just get it all at once? Then you don't have to make so many trips."

"Because it… it would… Juvia doesn't really know." She stammered. She honestly couldn't think of a reason.

"Shee, ish a good idea. You shud do it thoo." Natsu said between bites.

"Natsu-san! It's impolite to talk while chewing." She told him. Natsu swallowed all the food in his mouth in one gulp and grinned sheepishly.

"Eheh, yeah. Erza told me that a while ago. Sometimes I forget, sorry."

"It's ok. Just try to remember ok? Juvia is going to get more food." She said as she got up. Natsu expected her to bring back a plate or two but he was surprised when she brought back six plates full to the brim of food.

"Woah."

"Is something the matter?" Juvia asked.

"No, just, that's a lotta food. Didn't expect that much from you."

"Well, Ju-Juvia must eat more than oth-other girls because Juvia has a high metabolism. She also needs to eat more to maintain h-her water body." Juvia explained, slightly embarrassed.

"Cool. Hey, did you try the kebobs? They're so good!" Natsu said, offering some of his to her. Juvia happily took some as she and Natsu ate their breakfast. Bystanders would later remark that they'd never seen so much food be eaten so quick. Others were just jealous that those who ate it didn't seem to get any bigger.

"Man, that was good!" Natsu said, stretching as he and Juvia left the hotel.

"It really was, Natsu-san. What should we do now?"

"Go to the harbor? We can wait there and see if the kraken might show up." Natsu suggested.

"Spend all day at the harbor and just wait?"

"Well, it's part of a beach too. We can hang out there." Natsu informed.

"A beach?" Juvia mused aloud. "Sure, maybe we should get some beach supplies though, enjoy our time there?" she suggested.

"Juvia, that's great! The hotel's gotta have some stuff! BEACH PARTY!" Natsu cheered, dashing inside to no doubt get beach gear. Juvia chuckled and went inside as well to get ready.

Soon after, the two met outside ready to go. Juvia changed into shorts and a tank-top, wearing her bikini underneath and carried a basket while Natsu just wore beach shorts and his scarf wrapped around his head while carried lots of beach gear including multiple beach balls.

"Are you sure you need all that, Natsu-san?"

"Yeah! Can't have a beach party without all this stuff." Natsu stated.

"It's just us, Natsu-san. Juvia doesn't think that makes it a party." Juvia told him and Natsu almost deflated immediately, dropping everything he was carrying.

"Bu-but we can still have fun at the beach!" Juvia quickly said, trying to cheer him up.

"Beach party…"Natsu mumbled quietly.

"Juvia brought snacks." She tried to cheer him up. Natsu perked up a little.

"Snacks?"

"Yes, and we could still fight the kraken as well."

"Alright! C'mon Juvia, what are you waiting for?" Natsu said, rushing down to the harbor. Juvia just sighed and picked up one of the beach balls that Natsu dropped and followed after him, passing through an open market that lied just before the beach. When she got there, she found that Natsu had gotten two lawn chairs under a large umbrella near where the beach met the harbor. Natsu was waving over to her.

"Natsu-san shouldn't just run and leave Juvia behind." Juvia pouted, setting her basket down and sitting on the chair.

"Eheheheh, sorry. I was just excited is all."

"Juvia can see that."

"But, hey, at least it's a nice day out." Natsu said, putting his hands behind his head and relaxing on the chair. Juvia couldn't help but agree as she lied down on the chair under the umbrella. The two of them relaxed comfortably until a couple beach goers noticed them.

"Hey, those marks… they're Fairy Tail mages!" one of them, a young woman said.

"Really? You sure?" the other, a young man asked.

"I'm positive! Look, the guy has a white scarf! It's Natsu the Salamander!" the girl said excitedly.

"No way! The fire dragon slayer?"

"Yeah! That means the girl has to be the Spirit mage, Lucy Heartfilia!"

"Doesn't she have blonde hair? That girl has blue hair."

"Huh? Wait… hold on… I think that's Juvia Lockser!"

"You sure know a lot about them." The guy said.

"Of course I do! Fairy Tail is the top guild in all of Fiore!"

"I wonder what they're doing here?" the guy asked and the girls eyes lit up.

"Let's ask them." She said, grabbing his arm and dragging over to them.

"Wait, no, this is a terrible ide-"

"Hi! Would you two happen to be from the Fairy Tail guild?" the girl asked the two mages. Natsu looked at the two carefully.

"Yeah. I'm Natsu, and this is Juvia." He introduced. Juvia waved politely and the girl let out a high pitched squeak, causing Natsu to cover his ears.

"I'm really sorry about her, she gets like this when she's excited." The guy apologized.

"It's fine but can she not do that again?" Natsu asked.

"So you're really Natsu and Juvia?" the girl asked.

"Ye-yeah." Natsu hesitantly replied, covering his ears just in case and for good reason too. The girl was about to squeak again but the guy covered her mouth with his hand.

"Thanks." Natsu said.

"No problem. So what are you doing in Hargeon?"

"We're here about the fire kraken."

"Oh, so that's why you're with Juvia." The girl said, breaking out from the guys grip.

"I'm Ren and this is Rei, by the way." The guy, now known as Ren said.

"What's that mean?" Natsu asked.

"It's just that usually when you do a job, you're with Lucy Heartfilia. And Juvia is either with Gray Fullbuster or Gajeel Redfox." Rei said.

"How does she know that? Is she stalking us? Are you stalking us?" Natsu asked, slightly worried.

"No, no! I read it in Sorcerer Weekly. They have the info on teams and things like that."

"Juvia is slightly worried about how they know all this."

"They have field reporters that keep track of these things. I wanna do that someday!" Rei said with conviction, but it only caused Natsu and Juvia to worry.

"Again, I'm really sorry about her, she gets… passionate about these things." Ren repeated.

"It's fine, I guess."

"Hey, is it true that Lucy Heartfilia and Gray Fullbuster are dating?" Rei foolishly asked.

"WHAT!?" both mages shrieked.

"Juvia knew that her love rival was interested in Gray-sama! But she has not won! Juvia is Gray-sama's one and only!"

"Lucy would never be interested in that stripper!" Natsu yelled, flames spewing from his mouth.

"Where did you hear this?" they both demanded of Rei, scaring the girl slightly.

"It- it was in a go-gossip coulomb." She admitted.

"Where is that pillar? I'll burn it to the ground!"

"No, Natsu-san. Not that kind of coulomb, an article in a magazine." Juvia explained.

"Well, I'll burn that too! Lucy does **not** like that ice-prick!" Natsu proclaimed, igniting his fists.

"Natsu-san, it's ju-just a rumour, it's not true." Ren tried to calm the pissed off dragon slayer. Natsu's flames died down.

"Really?"

"Y-yes." Ren stammered. Natsu calmed down slightly.

"Ok. But why did she ask that if it's not true?"

"Because she gets too excited and doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut at times. I'm very sorry about her, we'll leave you alone now." Ren said, dragging off a protesting Rei with him.

"Well, that wasn't fun at all." Natsu sulked.

"Juvia agrees, Juvia could have gone without listening to her lies."

"Yeah. There's no way Lucy would like that frozen idiot." Natsu mumbled, slumping back in his chair. His comment got Juvia's attention, prompting her to ask question that's been on her mind.

"Natsu-san, why do you always fight with Gray-sama? The two of you are comrades but you always are so… hostile to each other."

"We're not hostile. We're rivals. Though I'm a lot stronger. And better, and awesome-er and smarter. But we fight 'cause it's what we, do ya know? "In Fairy Tail, if you ain't brawlin' ya ain't bondin'" that's what gramps says."

"But Juvia doesn't see the girls fight."

"You kidding? Cana gets in on these whenever she can, and god help you if you mess with Erza's cake, she'll end you." Natsu warned.

"That does sound like Erza-san."

"Yup. Hell, there was even a couple times when Levy got in on the action too." Natsu said, much to Juvia's surprise.

"What? Even Levy-san? Juvia can't believe it."

"Oh yeah. She's good too. All she had to do was say a word and you'll be crushed under a boulder in no time. But that's nothing compared to Mira. When we were kids, her and Erza would go at it all the time."

"Wow, to see those two fight would be quite a sight."

"You have no idea. Back then, Mira was tied with Erza for the strongest girl in the guild. Hell, if it wasn't for Gildarts and that lightning bastard, they were probably the strongest ones in the guild."

"Is Gildarts really that strong?" Juvia asked.

"Totally! You remember the S-class exams?"

"Of course, Juvia won't be able forget that soon."

"Well, me and Happy had to fight him and he kinda sorta beat us with just his magic power…" Natsu said, slightly embarrassed.

"Wait, Juvia remembers that. There was a huge spike in magic power somewhere, you mean that was Gildarts-san?" she asked, thinking back to the enormous, crushing power she felt.

"Yeah, he's awesome. But now I have my Lightning-Flame Dragon Mode and after the power ups we got during the games, I can take him!" Natsu proclaimed confidently. Juvia laughed to humour him.

"Man, all this talk about fighting and stuff really gets me going! When's that Kraken showing up, I wanna fight somethin'!" Natsu complained. As if answering the fire mages plea, a rumbling came from the ocean. Juvia, being so close to the water, could sense that something large was approaching and was instantly alert.

"Juvia thinks that Natsu-san will get his wish soon." Juvia warned. Now Natsu could feel the rumbling as the waves that splashed on the shore became stronger until a massive tentacle erupted from the water followed by another and then another until the beast itself began to rise from the ocean. A massive dark red squid, easily larger than the guild hall, stared at the harbour and the frightened beach goers before smashing its tentacles into the ships docked on the harbour. Its head and a few tentacles then burst into flame that would go out each time they'd submerge but would re-light as soon as they met air again. Seeing all this, Natsu broke out into a wide grin.

"Alright! C'mon Juvia, let's kick this things ass!" Natsu said, igniting his fists aflame and charging at the beast.

 **(A/N. Hello again. I'm really sorry for the late update, I've been fasting this month and got pretty sick too and let me tell you, those two things do not mix well. At all. But I'm back and writing again. Some of you may have noticed that I started a new story but let me tell you that it will not impede on the time it takes to write this one so for now, I hope to keep my normal schedule of around once a week. As always, if you liked the chapter, leave a review!)**


	5. Kraken, kun, and COOL!

**Chapter 5- Kraken, Kun, and COOL!**

" **Fire dragons roar!** " Natsu yelled out, sending a raging torrent of fire at the Kraken.

"Juvia, make sure everyone's outta the way. I'll keep distracting it." Natsu planned. Juvia nodded and Natsu rushed off to face the beast. Juvia didn't have a hard time of his request as most of the beach goers rushed off as soon as the kraken showed up. Though there were some stragglers that got injured in the krakens first attack.

"Please! Someone help!" a bystander yelled, grabbing Juvia's attention. She turned to see a young boy trying to dig his mother out some debris. Juvia rushed to help and the boy turned to her.

"Please, help me! She's stuck under here and I think her leg is broken." The boy pleaded.

"Right." Juvia helped to get the debris off and saw that the woman's leg was indeed broken.

"Help Juvia with her other side." She asked. Working together, the two began to carry the woman to safety.

"JUVIA, LOOK OUT!" she heard Natsu yell. She turned her head to see Natsu on one of the kraken's flailing tentacles and quickly saw what Natsu meant. One of the tentacles was coming towards her. Very quickly.

" **Water dome!** " Juvia called out, instantly surrounding her and the two in a sphere of water. The tentacle rushed towards them but hit the dome instead, ricocheting off. Juvia keeps the dome up until Natsu sends a fireball at the tentacle assaulting them, gaining its attention. She dispelled the water and continued to bring the two to safety.

"Thank you. Thank you so much!" the son said.

"You're welcome. Please stay here until we've taken care of the kraken."

"You're not going to fight that, are you?" the mother asked, concerned for Juvia. Juvia just smiled reassuringly and showed the two her guild mark.

"Juvia is. Juvia is a Fairy Tail mage and her job is to defeat that and protect this town." She announced and ran off to join Natsu.

" **Water slicer!** " Juvia called out, sending a pressurized stream of water at a tentacle that was about to attack Natsu. The attack repelled the tentacle but Juvia was surprised when it didn't cut through like normal.

"Thanks, Juvia. Everyone outta the way?" Natsu asked.

"Yes, now we can fight to our fullest."

"Awesome! Let's go!" Natsu roared out as he charged the beast.

"Right!" Juvia said, following him. The two mages attacked the beast with a plethora of magic, hitting the kraken's head along with its tentacles.

" **Fire dragons brilliant flame!** " Natsu called out, hurling a giant ball of fire at the kraken, causing it to stumble back a little. Juvia added on to the assault.

" **Water jigsaw!** " she followed, sending tendrils of twisting pressurized water at it. Natsu set his feet ablaze and used his fire as a sort of jet propulsion to hurl himself at the kraken.

" **Fire dragons iron fist!** " he roared, slamming his fist into the kraken only to be swatted away by another tentacle. Juvia cushioned his fall with water.

"Natsu-san, are you ok?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Juvia. But dammit! Those tentacles are a pain in the ass!"

"Juvia has tried cutting them off, but even her water slicer won't cut them."

"Yeah, that thing has really hard skin. Why is that?"

"Likely because it lives deep under water, so to survive the extreme pressure it developed very hard skin." Juvia explained.

"Huh. Ok. **Fire dragons roar!** " Natsu let out another torrent of flame, basically ignoring Juvia's fact. Juvia pretty much expected it.

" **Water jigsaw!** " another twisting blast of water hit the kraken. This seemed to irritate the beast as its flames grew larger before it sent them towards Natsu and Juvia. Natsu just grinned and opened his mouth, inhaling all of the flames.

"Phew! Thanks for the meal!"

"Natsu-san, that might not help if we can't get through its skin."

"My sword horn should be able to do it, but those damn tentacles will get me before I get close."

"Juvia will keep them busy."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Let's go, Natsu-san!" Juvia used the water surrounding the kraken to keep it off balance, distracting it from Natsu, who was wreathed in flames before he took off like a missile. Juvia whipped away the tentacles that tried to get in Natsu's way.

" **Fire dragons sword horn!** " Natsu's attack made contact with the kraken, making a large slash in the beast. The kraken wailed in pain while Natsu landed in the ocean. Juvia took advantage of the krakens distress and launched water slicers at the beast, cutting off two of its tentacles. Natsu used his fire to push himself through the water to land back on the beach. Using his fire to dry himself off, Natsu saw what Juvia did to the kraken.

"Nice, Juvia!"

"Thanks, Natsu-san. Juvia thinks that we've almost defeated it. But Juvia doesn't think it will let us near it again."

"Can you get it in the air?" Natsu asked.

"What?" Juvia asked, clearly confused.

"Can you get it in the air?" he repeated.

"What are you thinking, Natsu-san?"

"This thing won't let either of us get close if it's in the water, but if it's in the air it won't know what to do. Then I can hit it with my firing hammer." Natsu said, eyes fixed on the kraken like a predator stalking its prey. Juvia had seen this look on Gajeel when they would go on missions. She also noticed sparks of electricity crackling down his arm.

"Can you do it Juvia?" Natsu asked again. Juvia could feel the confidence coming off Natsu, and couldn't let him down.

"Juvia won't let you down."

"Thanks, Juvia. **Lightning flame dragon mode!** " Natsu announced, lightning mixing in with his fire. Juvia concentrated on the ocean, feeling her own power growing with the sea, her power over the sea expanding. She could feel the creatures in the ocean, the kraken flailing in its pain and anger. Juvia of the Deep held dominion over the water here.

"Natsu-san, Juvia is ready."

"Alright!" Natsu said. He blasted off high in the sky towards the kraken, fire and lightning streaking behind him. Juvia focused and slammed her hands on the beach.

" **Water eruption!** " she called out. A huge geyser of water exploded underneath the kraken, sending it straight up towards a now descending Natsu. He brought his arm back, fire and lighting streaming around it.

" **Lightning flame dragons firing hammer!** " Natsu roared out, slamming his fist into the oncoming kraken. On impact, the attack created an explosion of fire and lightning and steam due to its time in the water. Natsu's attack sent the kraken flying back towards the ocean. Natsu himself also fell into the ocean but more controlled, a giant shit-eating grin on his face. When he resurfaced, he still had that grin. He swam back to the shore with no issue and when he got on shore, he gave a victory sign.

"Fairy Tail-1, squid-0." He proudly proclaimed.

"Natsu-san, that was incredible!" Juvia praised.

"Thanks, Juvia, you kicked ass too. That giant explosion? Awesome! Plus you took those tentacles clean off, how kick ass was that?" Natsu returned the praise. Juvia blushed a bit.

"Juvia doesn't think it was that impressive." She shied away.

"You kiddin'? You musta blasted that thing at least 100 feet in the air! C'mon!" Natsu said, putting his hand in the air, waiting for Juvia to return the high five. She smiled and did so.

"Thank you, Natsu-kun." Juvia said. Natsu was surprised by the new honorific, but was happy to hear it.

Soon after, the beach became flooded with the people who watched the battle. Each of them amazed by what Natsu and Juvia did.

"Wow!"

"That was awesome!"

"Fairy Tail is amazing!"

"Thank you so much!"

Natsu and Juvia were bombarded with compliments and fanfare before the crowd calmed down and they all parted to make way for the mayor as he approached the mages.

"Mages of Fairy Tail. On the behalf of the entire town of Hargeon, I, mayor Varro Emeriti, thank you from the bottom of my heart. And I especially thank you for avoiding too much collateral damage, Mr. Dragneel." Mayor Emeriti joked.

"Hah, yer welcome, it was fun!" Natsu said, putting an arm around Juvia's shoulder casually. She was only slightly surprised but she eased into it. The mayor spoke up again.

"While I don't doubt your abilities as mages, I must request that you two stay for another day. Just to make sure the beast was defeated." The mayor requested. Natsu shrugged.

"I kinda have a… someone close to get back home to." Natsu said.

"I must insist. While I can't increase the reward, I can promise your stay at the hotel will all expense paid for the night and morning."

"I dunno…"

"Including food." The mayor tempted. This got Natsu's attention. He turned to Juvia.

"What do you think, Juvia?" he asked.

"Juvia thinks that it would be the responsible thing to do. Lucy-san would agree." She said honestly. That made up Natsu's mind.

"Alright, we'll stay for another day." Natsu told him, to the excitement of the crowd. But one voice stood out.

"COOOOOOOOLLLLLLL!" The unmistakable voice of Jason rang out. Much to Natsu's chagrin.

"Aw crap." Natsu groaned. Juvia wasn't that excited either. Jason ran up to them, camera around his neck, note pad in hand, and smile on his face.

"Natsu Dragneel and Juvia Lockser here in Hargeon! What do you two say to a photo shoot?" he asked right off the bat.

"No thank you, Jason-san." Juvia politely declined. The two were surprised to see Jason actually a bit downtrodden.

"Please? The new issue of Sorcerer Magazine is supposed to be released tomorrow, but we don't have enough to cover for the issue. You two beating the kraken is the most exciting and cool thing that I can add. I'll do anything!" he pleaded.

"Anything?" Natsu asked.

"Anything!" Jason confirmed. Natsu got to thinking and gave an answer.

"Stop spreading rumours about us! Like who likes who and that crap!" Natsu demanded. Juvia agreed. And luckily, so did Jason.

"Deal! Now there's no time to waste, we need to do the interview A.S.A.P so I'll need everyone to leave the beach immediately, official Sorcerer Magazine business." He called out. The Natsu and Juvia's surprise, the crowd actually listened to him and dispersed, even the mayor. That had them thinking the same thing.

'Why did they listen to him?'

"Alright, let's start off with some questions. First, Natsu Dragneel and Juvia Lockser, an unusual combination. What led to you two taking on a job together?" Jason asked with a professionalism that surprised them. Juvia decided to answer.

"Well, Natsu-kun was the one who took the mission but Lucy-san was unable to accompany him."

"Lucy Heartfilia, yes?" Jason asked. He also took note of the changed honorific. Natsu answered.

"Yeah, she got sick so she couldn't come. Happy's looking after her now. But Mira said that I should bring Juvia, get to know my guild mate and stuff, and she was right. Juvia's awesome!" Natsu said, giving her a pat on the shoulder.

"Was it difficult to work with someone so different from you? I mean the two of you are opposites in almost every way. Magic, gender, personality, even hair colour." Jason pointed out. Juvia answered.

"Juvia thought it would be difficult at first-"

"Hey!" Natsu complained.

"Let Juvia finish, Natsu-kun. Juvia thought it would be difficult but Natsu-kun is a very reliable partner. He's very kind and upbeat so it was very easy to work with him."

"Hey thanks, Juvia" Natsu said. Jason was scribbling all this down.

"And what about you, Natsu-san?" Jason asked.

"Juvia's great! I knew she was an awesome mage but I didn't really know her, ya know? I just thought she was a weird girl that stalked Gray-"

"Hey!" Juvia complained

"Let Natsu finish." He echoed, making Juvia laugh. Jason took note of this. "Anyway, I got to know her on the job and she's really cool, and funny, and she's super smart. She taught me about feelings and stuff, well more about them, but she also knows when to get serious. She's like a really awesome big sister type person." He said, making Juvia blush.

"That's very kind, Natsu-kun."

"It's true." Natsu replied.

"Now, you said this is your first job together but the two of you fought the kraken with such great teamwork. Did you work on it before hand?"

"Not, really. Juvia has some experience working with mages like Natsu-kun. Gajeel-kun also likes to charge right in and get close. Juvia prefers long ranged fighting but will get close if needed."

"Gajeel Redfox, yes? It sounds like you have a talent for working with dragon slayers, Juvia-san." Jason said, making Juvia giggle.

"It seems like it, yes. Though Juvia hasn't really worked with Wendy-chan yet."

"Hah, well please let me know how that works out." Jason said. He continued to ask the two questions and went on to a photo-shoot on the beach. Jason shot the two for a while, some shots showing off their magic's, others their strengths as he took a few of Juvia hanging off of Natsu's outstretched arm and some of Juvia raising Natsu over her head while he laughed. Jason continued the shoot as the sun was setting before letting them go.

"Thanks so much, you two. Tomorrow's issue will be so cooooooll!"Jason promised as he ran off.

"Well, that was…" Juvia trailed off.

"Weird?" Natsu suggested.

"Yes, weird. Thank you, Natsu-kun."

"So, I'm 'Natsu-kun' now, huh?" he asked, smirking.

"Ju-Juvia just became co-comfortable around Natsu-k- Natsu-san. Juvia is so-sorry if Natsu-san doesn't li-like it." Juvia stammered out, slightly embarrassed. Natsu clapped her on the back and laughed.

"It's fine, Juvia! I'm glad you're okay with me enough for that, really I am." He assured.

"Really?"

"Of course. Now c'mon, it's late and fighting that thing plus the thing with Jason made me hungry. Wanna eat?" he offered. Juvia nodded.

"Juvia is quite hungry. And the mayor said that the food and stay was covered." Juvia reminded.

"Alright! C'mon Juvia, let's make me regret that!" Natsu cheered, leading the two back to the hotel, Juvia laughing behind him. In the hotel kitchen, the chefs were filled with a sense of foreboding. They watched and waited until it happened. The greatest challenge they ever would face had come. Two hungry Fairy Tail mages.

 **(A/N. I'm back! Ramadan is over so now I can get back to a more regular schedule. Everyone, I read your reviews and comments and I gotta say, I was super touched. A huge thank you to those that understood what I was doing, it means so very much to me so thank you all very, very much. Now on to something a little less 'sappy', I hope you all enjoyed the kraken fight, I know I had fun writing it. Now we're almost at the end of the story, just one, maybe two chapters left. Like always, if you liked the chapter, leave a review! Or don't, I'm not the boss of you. But do it please?)**


	6. Dragon slayers give pretty good advice

**Chapter 6- Wise dragon slayers and a butthurt Ice mage**

The next morning, Natsu and Juvia woke up at around the same time. Meeting each other in the hallway, they went down to the lobby together.

"Man, last night's dinner was great! The guys in the kitchen really went all out." Natsu said, stretching.

"Juvia agrees, though she does feel a little bad for how much they had to work. We did eat a lot, Natsu-kun."

"Yeah, I guess. But it was so good! I've got to come back here with Luce sometime, she'd love it here." Natsu mentioned.

"Luce? You mean Lucy-san?"

"Yeah, it's what I call her. That an' Luigi." Natsu said, making Juvia chuckle.

"Luigi? Why call Lucy-san that?"

"Because it annoys her and that's funny." Natsu grinned. "Wanna get some breakfast?" Natsu asked. Juvia nodded and the two began to walk to the hotel restaurant. They stopped when they saw a sign with both of their faces crossed out with the words **not allowed** under the pictures. Juvia was nervous but Natsu just laughed it off.

"Hahahahahaha, I guess they remember us."

"Natsu-kun, it's not funny! Juvia really liked the food here."

"Yeah, I know. You plowed through like six plates of ribs before they ran out." Natsu reminded. Juvia blushed upon remembering.

"Well, Natsu-kun ate all of their lamb kabobs! And he choked on one of them too." Juvia fired back, this time making Natsu turn a slight shade of pink.

"Hey! Well at least I didn't drool on the table!"

"Juvia wasn't the one who set the table cloth on fire!"

"That wasn't me, that was the fire-chicken that the waiter dropped!"

"Natsu-kun was the one who asked for it to be on fire!"

"Juvia was the one who almost flooded the place trying to put the fire out!" Natsu shot back. The two glared at each other before they tried to stifle their giggles. Soon enough, the two of them were laughing their heads off as they remembered their dinner hi-jinks.

"Wanna go look for a place that'll let us in?" Natsu asked.

"Sure. Maybe word of us hasn't gone too far." Juvia agrees. The two leave the hotel lobby, still talking about how they each acted at dinner the previous night.

As they walk through the town, every now and then a few people would come up to them, thanking them for ridding the town of the kraken or asking for autographs. While they were happy to do so, they became increasingly hungry. It didn't help that word had indeed spread about them so quite a few restaurants hesitantly wouldn't let them in. Though soon enough, they found a small restaurant whose owner was grateful enough for their help that let them in. Juvia made sure that they didn't eat too much, mainly that Natsu didn't eat too much, as to show their thanks. After paying for their food, Natsu and Juvia decided to explore the town of Hargeon and see what it had to offer.

"Come on, Natsu-kun. It will be fun." Juvia said, trying to excite Natsu into going. Eventually he gave in and the two set out. Juvia mainly led the two of them to different shops and was surprised when Natsu didn't complain too much when she wanted to look at clothes.

"Lucy makes me do it all the time when we hang out so I'm kinda used to it."

"Natsu-kun goes shopping with Lucy-san?"

"Yeah, but all she gets is skirts and heels and stuff. I still don't know how she can fight in those, every time I ask she just smiles all weird."

"Do you not like it when she wears those?" Juvia asked.

"Nah, she looks great in pretty much anything but I'm just always wondering how she can fight in them." Natsu said, holding a few outfits Juvia gave him to wear.

"Girls have a special talent for it, Natsu-kun." Juvia said, adding to the pile Natsu had. The pile kept growing and growing until it became a tower threatening to spill.

"Uhhh, Juvia? This thing's gonna fall over." Natsu warned.

"Just put them in the cart." Juvia said absentmindedly.

"I… didn't get one." Natsu admitted. Juvia froze, realizing what that meant. She turned around and didn't see Natsu like she was expecting, but indeed a tower of clothes.

"Stay very still, Natsu-kun. Juvia will go and get a cart."

"Hurry back! This thing's starting to tumble over!" Natsu warned, moving around so that it wouldn't fall over. Juvia ran back to the entrance to get the cart but paused when she saw the magazine stand with the new issue of sorcerer weekly with herself and Natsu on the cover. She was about to pick it up when she heard Natsu call after her.

"Juvia hurry!" she turned and was slightly mortified when she could see the tower of clothes from the entrance. Quickly grabbing a cart, she could only wonder if the others at the guild had read the new issue.

They had.

* * *

"MIRAJANE STRAUSS!" came the boisterous shout of Cana Alberona as she kicked open the guild doors.

"Cana, what's happening?" Mira asked, somewhat worried. Cana rushed to the bar and took a seat and slammed something on the counter.

"You. Have got. To see this." She told the white haired barmaid. Mira looked to see it was the new sorcerer issue and was very surprised when she saw Natsu and Juvia on the cover, the two of them in beach clothes and chatting comfortably.

"Cana, what is this?" Mira asked.

"The best thing ever, Mira. The best thing ever." Cana replied. Mira began reading through it and agreed. A glint shone in her eye and anyone who was familiar with her Satan-Soul would recognize it immediately.

"Cana, we're going to have so much fun today." Mira said. The two girls began to laugh evilly as more people came into the guild, one of them being Levy.

"Umm, should I be worried?" she asked herself. The two laughing ladies heard her and ushered her over.

"Levy! Come here, you gotta read this."

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"

"Oh, no you're not." Cana told her and shoved the magazine in her face. Levy began reading and matched the evil grin on the other girls' faces.

"Oh, Gajeel is going to freak."

* * *

Back at Hargeon, Juvia had barely managed to get the cart to Natsu in time before the tower of clothes fell over. Right into the cart. Natsu stared at it for a bit.

"Awesome timing." Natsu said, grinning at the good fortune.

"Juvia tries. Now let's find Natsu-kun something new." Juvia said.

"Wait, what? Why me? I like my clothes."

"But they're the same thing. Wouldn't Natsu-kun like to try something new?"

"I dunno…"

"Juvia knows Lucy-san would like it." Juvia said slyly. Natsu stiffened.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah, Lucy-san has mentioned that Natsu-kun would look good in something new." Juvia coerced.

"Alright. I guess a new shirt wouldn't be so bad." Natsu gave in. Juvia laughed.

"Oh, Natsu-kun, just one shirt. That's funny." Juvia said before dragging Natsu off to the men's section.

"Wait, what?" he mumbled out, Juvia dragging him by his arm.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Gajeel roared out, having read the new article. Levy was beside herself with laughter.

"Something wrong, Gajeel?" she asked between laughhs.

"HELL YEAH THERE IS! I'M THE ONLY DRAGON SLAYER JUVIA NEEDS TO BE FRIENDS WITH!"

"What about Wendy?" Cana asked between laughs.

"Well, the runt's fine, BUT NOT SALAMANDER!"

"What's wrong with Juvia being friends with Natsu?" Levy asked.

"Salamander's an idiot and Juvia can do better." Gajeel said.

"Gajeel, could it be that you're… jealous?" Levy asked, clearly amused.

"Of that flaming idiot? Hell no!" Gajeel defended, but Levy could see some pink on his face. She wasn't the only one.

"Oh really? Then why are your cheeks turning pink?" Cana teased.

"THEY'RE NOT!" Gajeel roared out, making everyone laugh.

"Oh, calm down Gajeel. I think it's nice that Juvia is getting to know Natsu. It's always nice to make new friends and Natsu is a good one to have." Levy said. Gajeel was about to reply when Gray came through the guild doors.

"The hell is going on? I could hear scrap for brains yelling a mile away." He said, taking note of the commotion.

"Shut it, ice-prick!"

"You wanna go, rust bucket?!" Gray challenged, shirt already off.

"Calm down, boys. We're just reading the new sorcerer weekly, Gray. Gajeel didn't like what was printed." Cana said.

"Really? What got iron-head all worked up?" Gray asked.

"That's it! Let's go, frosty!" Gajeel challenged, arm turned into an iron sword.

"You're on, tin-man!" Gray responded, slamming a fist onto his open palm.

"Boys! No fighting right now. Even Levy is getting annoyed. Wouldn't want her to get involved now would you?" Mira interjected. Gray turned his head to see Levy glaring at the two of them.

"Oh shit, we'll be cool." He said.

"Ha, what's wrong, afraid of the shrimp?" Gajeel taunted. A second later, a giant slab of stone fell from above, just a hairs length away from crushing Gajeel where he stood. The iron dragon slayer froze and slowly turned his head to see Levy with her arm pointed at him, a dangerous smirk playing on her lips.

"She was chosen for the S-class exams for a reason, dude." Gray reminded Gajeel.

"Noted."

"Now what's this about the new sorcerer?" Gray asked.

"It's all about the job Natsu and Juvia went on." Mira said, peaking Gray's interest.

"Lemme see that." Gray asked. Mira gave him the magazine and he started reading it. He was oddly quiet the whole time. And some time after as well.

"Gray?" Cana asked, somewhat worried about the ice-mage.

"They work well together it seems." He said, voice cool.

"It looks that way." Mira said.

"And they got closer too."

"I'm sure it's not by much, it's only one job." Levy said, catching on. As she said it, she noted that she could see her breath. It was getting colder in the guild.

"She calls him 'Natsu-kun' now." Gray said, voice barely above a whisper.

"Hey, ease up, you're freezing the guild over." Gajeel told him. Gray lifted his head up and realized that Gajeel was right. He closed his eyes to focus on his magic, reigning it in.

"You ok?" Cana asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well you almost froze the guild over because of a magazine article." She pointed out.

"Why should I get upset over Juvia and that flaming idiot? So they're friends now, that's great." Gray explained.

"Alright, now if you said that without any of the palpable distaste in your voice, I might believe you." Cana said, smirking.

"I'm fine!" Gray insisted.

"Yeah, that's a load of crap." Gajeel said, now using Levy's head as an arm rest.

"Really? This again?" she complained.

"Get used to it, shrimp. You're a perfect height for me." Gajeel said, causing Levy to blush at his statement.

"Why's your face turning all red? You still cold?" he asked.

"N-no! That's no-" her defense was cut short when he moved closer, his stomach now on her back and both arms crossed on her head.

"There, now you got a dragon slayer on ya. We run hot so you outta be warmed up in no time."

"Awww, how sweet, Gajeel." Mira cooed.

"Don't go twisting my words, woman! I just can't let my arm rest freeze, doesn't make it too comfy for me." Gajeel defended, a slight blush on his face. Though not as much as Levy's, whose face was bright red and could give Erza's hair a run for its money.

"What's that about me being a load of crap?" Gray demanded of Gajeel.

"I didn't say you were a load of crap, but now that you bring it, up you are. I said you not being upset over Juvia and the matchstick is a load of crap."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, really."

"And why's that, oh wise rusty lizard?"

"Cuz yer' jealous. Juvia's been hung up on you since you met an' now she's pals with salamander, yer' rival. It's a territory thing. Same reason why pinky freaks out when someone tries to put the moves on bunny girl."

"But Gray isn't going as crazy as Natsu." Mira pointed out.

"I'm right here." The ice mage said but was ignored.

"That's cuz he aint a dragon slayer. We're more… inclined to keep what's ours to ourselves."

"Natsu thinks Lu-chan is 'his'?" Levy asked.

"Yep."

"Does that mean he… you know." Mira asked, eyes filled with mischief. Gajeel grinned.

"Oh yeah. Idiot doesn't even know it though." Gajeel said.

* * *

"ACHOO!" Natsu sneezed again, this time letting lose a small stream of fire.

"Is Natsu-kun ok? He's been sneezing for some time now." Juvia asked outside the changing room Natsu was in.

"Yeah, the guys at the guild are probably talking about me."

"Juvia doesn't think that's actually a real thin-" before she could finish, she too was caught in a sneeze.

"You were saying?" Natsu cheekily asked.

"Who would be talking about Juvia?"

"Probably that iron idiot. Or ice-prick. Or Cana. Probably any of the girls, really." Natsu said, but Juvia was focused on one person in particular.

"Gray-sama would talk about Juvia? Why?"

"Why not? He does it all the time." Natsu mentioned, trying on another shirt Juvia picked out for him.

"WHAT?" Juvia shrieked.

"Gah! Holy shit!" Natsu wailed, the loud noise wreaking havoc on his ears.

"Sorry, Natsu-kun."

"It's fine, but what was that about?"

"Gray-sama talks about Juvia?"

"Yeah."

"Since when?!" she demanded.

"I dunno, since forever. How's this look?" Natsu asked, stepping out in a black button up shirt with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up and slim dark blue pants. His trademark scarf wrapped slightly different, slipping under his collar to match with the shirt.

"Natsu-kun. Define 'since forever'!"

"Kinda doesn't answer my question."

"It looks wonderful. Now answer Juvia's!"

"Alright, alright. Calm down, would ya?" Natsu asked. Juvia nodded and took a seat.

"Sometimes when we're hanging out he mentions you. Stuff like 'Juvia likes that' or 'Juvia said this was good' and things like that."

"Really?"

"Yeah." A Natsu's confirmation, Juvia squealed like no tomorrow. At least before Natsu put his hand over her mouth.

"Please, for my ears?" Natsu pleaded. Juvia nodded. "I'm gonna take my hand back now. Stay calm?" Natsu asked, Juvia nodded again.

"Juvia is sorry, Natsu-kun. Juvia was just excited! Gray-sama listens to Juvia and talks about her to his friends!"

"You really like him, don't you? Like, actually like him." Natsu said.

"Of course! Gray-sama is Juvia's one and only." She declared. Natsu smiled at her statement.

"Gray needs to get his head out of his ass." He said, making Juvia stop giggling.

"What? Why would Natsu-san say that?"

"Because he's an idiot, that's why."

"Gray-sama is not an idiot, Natsu-kun!" she defended.

"He is if he's keeping someone like you waiting." Natsu said, ending her tirade.

"What?"

"Here he's got this awesome woman who's totally in to him, and he's too busy being his stupid brooding, self-doubting, crappy self to do anything about it. He needs to hurry up, get his head out of his ass, and realize just how lucky he is to have someone like you who cares about him so much." Natsu said, looking at a mirror and trying to fix the shirt. Only to turn back around when he heard Juvia start to cry.

"Waaaaahhhhhhh!"

"Oh, shit! Juvia, what's wrong? Did I say something?" he asked.

"Natsu (sob) kun (sob) is (sob) so (sob) kiiiiiiiinnnnddddd!" Juvia said through sobs.

"Huh?" Natsu was very confused. Juvia kept sobbing but eventually calmed down.

"What Natsu-kun just said, it was very kind." She explained, still sniffing.

"Well, it's true."

"Thank you, Natsu-kun." Juvia said warmly. Natsu returned the smile but it wavered when he saw that Juvia was on the verge of tears again.

"Hey, Juvia."

"Yes?"

"You're too good for Gray." Natsu said, knowing it would distract her.

"Natsu-kun!" the water mage pouted.

"Hahahahahah!"

* * *

Back at the guild, Gray suddenly started sneezing up a storm.

"Watch your snot, frosty!" Gajeel said.

"Shut it."

"You alright?" Levy asked.

"Yeah, don't know where that came from though."

"Someone's probably talking about you." Cana suggested.

"Probably Juvi." Gajeel suddenly said.

"Juvi?" Levy asked.

"Yeah, Juvia."

"You call her Juvi?" Gray asked.

"Yeah."

"And you're not embarrassed that you gave her a nickname?"

"Why would I be? I give em to a lot of people. Salamander's idiot, frosty here is also idiot, and I'm leanin' on shrimp right now." Gajeel explained.

"Can we get back to the point?!" Gray asked.

"Fine, but before we do, tell us this. What 'point' are you talkin' about?" Gajeel asked.

"This point!" Gray answered, holding up the copy of Sorcerer.

"Natsu and Juvia?"

"Yes!"

"What's the big deal about that?" Gajeel asked.

"You were all up in arms about it a few minutes ago and now you're alright with it?" Levy pointed out.

"Hell no! I still say Juvi can do better than that pyro but she's a big girl, she can make her own decisions." Gajeel reasoned.

"You two are really close, aren't you?" Levy observed.

"Duh, we were in phantom together for years. She was the only one with enough balls to take jobs with me."

"So you're fine with her and Natsu hanging out?" Gray asked.

"Tch, I don't like it but it's her decision. I may not like the idiot, but salamander's not the worst person in the world so I know he wouldn't try anything. Even if he did, Juvi would have no problem putting him in his place."

"Doesn't anyone else think it's weird that they're this close in this short a time?"

"Not at all. Natsu can be a little brash at times but there's no one who treasures his friends more than he does. And Juvia's the sweetest little thing, so it's no surprise that they'd hit it off." Mira answered Gray's question easily.

"Face it, stripper. You're the only one that's got a real problem with this. Wonder why that is?" Gajeel taunted, causing Gray to throw the magazine at him. He caught it easily and watched Gray storm out of the guild.

"Don't you think that was a little harsh?" Levy asked. Gajeel shook his head.

"Nah, he needed that. Bout time he actually started doing some thinking about this." Gajeel reasoned.

"How sweet, Gajeel. Looking out for Juvia like that." Mira commented, making Gajeel slightly blush.

"Stop twisting' my words, woman! It's just that it's high time he stop stringing her on."

"I think it's nice that you have that side. You may try to get everyone to believe you don't care, but under all that hard-headed-ness, you're actually a sweet guy." Gajeel was put off by levy's sudden comment.

"I aint no touchy feely wimp!" Gajeel earnestly defended. Levy just smiled and petted his arm that was still on her head.

"Sure you're not."

 **(A/N. Holy shit, guys! I'm so sorry that I'm so late with this, college has been kicking my ass lately but I'm back for now. Things are easing up so I got time to write and whatnot. Steam powered is almost finished, next chapter is the finale and I have an epilogue written after that. As a way to make up for the delay, I'm gonna release the rest of the chapters daily. As always, if you liked the chapter, leave a review.)**


	7. Gifts and returns

**Chapter 7- Gifts and returns.**

After buying more clothes than Natsu thought possible, the two of them dropped them off at their respective hotel rooms.

"Seriously, how're you gonna get all those back home?" Natsu asked, completely bewildered.

"Juvia didn't get that many things, Natsu-kun."

"They had to get people to help send it all back with us."

"So Juvia might have gotten a little more than usual, but it's ok, Juvia got some for the girls at the guild." She explained. Natsu nodded his head before freezing up.

"Natsu-kun?"

"Shit! I totally forgot! I had to get something for Lucy!"

"Hmm? Did Lucy-san ask for something?" hearing Juvia's question made Natsu calm down. Kind of.

"Well, not exactly. I just wanted to get something for her, you know, so she'd feel better."

"Awww, Natsu-kun. That's so sweet." Natsu blushed at the comment.

"Sh-shut up…"

"So what did Natsu-kun want to get Lucy-san?"

"I dunno. Girls like jewelry, right? I know Luce does."

"Anything in mind? Ring, necklace?"

"I… don't know?"

"What does Lucy-san like?"

"Shiny things and magic? Eheheh…" Natsu laughed, rubbing the back of his head. Juvia sighed.

"Does Natsu-kun want Juvia's help in picking something?" As soon as Juvia's words left her mouth, she was engulfed in a hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Natsu-kun! Let Juvia breath!" Natsu complied and let her go.

"C'mon, Juvia! Let's find something for Luce!" Natsu led the way as they searched for something for Lucy.

"Does Natsu-kun know where the jewelry store is?"

"Ummmm…"

"Follow Juvia." She sighed. Juvia then took the lead and soon enough, they found a little jewelry store close to the beach. They were greeted as soon as they opened the door.

"Welcome to- oh! It's you two." The elderly shop keeper recognized Natsu and Juvia when they entered.

"Uh, do we know you gramps?"

"Ohoho, no, no. But I know you. All of us in Hargeon will never forget what you two did for us."

"We were just doing our jobs."

"Yeah, plus it was fun to fight it!" Natsu grinned.

"Either way, thank you both. Now, what's brings two young mages into my humble old shop?"

"We're lookin' for jewelry." Natsu said, looking around.

"Something for your girlfriend here?" the shopkeeper asked, referencing Juvia. Natsu and Juvia glanced at each other before chuckling.

"Juvia? Oh, no. She's not my girlfriend, she's with someone already, kinda." Natsu explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just assumed. Who are you getting it for?"

"I'm lookin' for something to get my… friend." The shopkeeper noticed the pause and broke out into a wide smile.

"Oh, my boy, I know exactly where you are right now. And luckily, I know what you need. Something personal, something that she'll cherish because it could only have come from you."

"How'd you know I was talking about a girl?"

"This old man has his ways."

"Does Mr. shopkeeper have something like what he described?" Juvia asked.

"Please, call me Richard, little miss. And as a matter of fact, yes. I have something perfect for you. I'm correct when I say you're a fire mage?" Richard asked, remembering the fight with the kraken. Natsu wore a proud grin and wrapped his hand in a small flame.

"Yup! Natsu Dragneel, fire dragon slayer of Fairy Tail!" he introduced.

"Ohoho? Dragon slayer you say? That's a very rare magic. I've only ever met one other dragon slayer before now. Must have been some 40 or 50 years ago." Richard told them as he went into the back of the store to find the item.

"Really? Do you remember what kind they were?" Juvia asked, now curious.

"If memory serves right she was a water dragon slayer, had one of those dragon lacrima's in her. Wanda might have been her name, something close to it I believe." Richard answered, returning with a flat black box in his hand.

"Is she still around?" Juvia asked, wondering if she could learn a thing or two from a powerful water mage.

"I'm sorry but no. She passed away quite some time ago. It was big news back then, she almost made wizard saint."

"That's so sad."

"Indeed, little miss. But on to something a little less sad, we're here so that this young man can make a very lucky lady, very happy, am I right?"

"You bet, gramps."

"Good lad, now take a look at this little beauty." Richard said opening the box to reveal a stunning necklace.

"It's beautiful. Is this Lemurian metal?" Juvia gushed.

"She has a good eye, this one. Yes indeed it is, little miss."

"What's that?" Natsu asked.

"It's a rare metal that's found in meteorites. It's said that it can increase a mage's power just by wearing it."

"Really? And meteorites? Like stuff from the stars?"

"Exactly."

"That's just like Lucy's magic."

"You're right, Natsu-kun. Mr. Richard, what's this piece here for?" Juvia asked, noticing what the Lemurian metal held inside it.

"This is why I asked if Natsu here was a fire mage. Here, read this." Richard gave the two a note that came from the box. The more Natsu read it, the wider his smile became.

"It's perfect! I'll take it!"

"Natsu-kun wait. It is truly very beautiful and Lucy-san would love it, but you also have to consider the price. I'm sure Lucy-san wouldn't want you to spend so much on her and this most likely would cost quite a bit." Juvia warned. She didn't like saying it though, as it truly was a perfect gift for Lucy.

"Damn, you're right. Gramps, how much is it?" Natsu tentatively asked. The shopkeeper grimaced a bit.

"Well, I don't like to say it but the little miss is right. A piece like this, well, it normally runs for about 120,000 jewels."

"120,000?! That's as much as the job reward!" Natsu cried out.

"But!" Richard suddenly said.

"But?" Natsu and Juvia repeated. Richard smiled kindly.

"But given what the two of you have down for this town and why this young man is getting it, I can lower the price to 75,000."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

"Thanks, gramps. I'll take it!"

"Is Natsu-kun sure? Even with the discount, it's still a hefty price."

"It's no problem. Me an' happy don't buy a lot of things so we have a lot saved up."

"If Natsu-kun is sure."

"I am, plus Luce will love it!" Natsu grinned. Richard went to wrap the necklace and presented it to them at the counter.

"Well, your friend is one lucky lady to have someone like you, Mr. Dragneel." Natsu instantly blushed.

"She's not- we're just- it's not- I'm-!" Natsu stammered out.

"Ohohohohohoh! I'm just having a laugh. This one's easily riled up, isn't he little miss?"

"Natsu-kun is very energetic." Juvia chuckled.

"Juvia! Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"

"But this is fun, Natsu-kun." Juvia defended with a sly look.

"Mean! Whatever, thanks again for the necklace, gramps."

"My pleasure, young man. Best of luck, you two, and safe travels."

"See ya, gramps."

"Goodbye, Richard-san." Richard smiled as the two left his shop.

Natsu and Juvia exited and were surprised when the saw the sun was beginning to set.

"Wow, already?"

"Juvia supposes time really does fly when you're having fun."

"Yeah, you're right. We have been out for the whole day so it's no surprise."

"Should we see the mayor now?"

"Yeah, probably. This was a great adventure but I'm starting to miss home, you know?"

"Juvia knows what you mean." The two then walked over to the mayor's office.

"How can I help you?" the secretary asked.

"We're here to see the mayor."

"Names?"

"Juvia Lockser and Natsu Dragneel. We're the mages from Fairy Tail."

"Oh, you two! The mayor's been expecting you, please go right in."

"So they know us by name but not by how we look? We were just here like two days ago."

"Perhaps they were busy, Natsu-kun." Juvia offered. The mayor greeted them on their way in.

"Ahh, you two, please have a seat. No doubt you're here to collect your reward, one moment." The mayor turned to a safe he kept behind his desk and took out two small pouches.

"As promised, 100,000 jewels for the both of you."

"Thank you, Varro-san."

"I should be thanking the two of you. Because of you we can start our sea export again, we truly owe you a debt."

"Don't mention it, it was fun!"

"Fighting that behemoth was fun?"

"Yup!" Natsu replied enthusiastically.

"Oh, well I'm glad you enjoyed it then." The mayor nervously replied. After a few more pleasantries, mayor Varro let Natsu and Juvia to pack for their return trip.

"Yo, Juvia! I'm done packing, I'll wait for you down in the lobby!" Natsu called from outside her room.

"Juvia will be down soon." Natsu shrugged and went down and waited. And waited. And waited.

"Dammit, Juvia! What the hell is taking so long?!" Natsu was annoyed with waiting and went back up and knocked on Juvia's door.

"Juvia! What's taking so long? Everything ok?"

"Everything is just fine, Natsu-kun."

"Then what's taking so long?" Natsu repeated.

"Juvia is just having some trouble… packing." Natsu had a feeling what was wrong.

"I'm coming in." Natsu announced, entering to the sight of a blue haired girl trying to sit on a suitcase while a giant pile of clothes were still on the bed.

"Juvia has this under control."

"No you don't."

"Yes Juvia does."

"No Juvia doesn't."

"… Juvia might not have this under control."

"Ya think?."

"Now what?"

"We gotta get you a few more suitcases."

"It will be difficult to carry all that back home."

"We'll figure something out. Be right back." Natsu quickly went out to buy more suitcases while Juvia continued to try and stuff everything on the few she had.

"Juvia! I got a few more." Juvia heard Natsu say.

"Come in!"

"Any progress?" Natsu asked, opening the door.

"Yes! Juvia has managed to fill two suitcases."

"Great! How much is left?" Natsu asked. Juvia pointed to a large pile of clothes on the bed and Natsu's face fell.

"Oh, great. Well, I got a couple extra ones so let's see if we can this all to fit." The two of them spent the next two hours trying to get everything to fit into the suitcases, each of them discovering new and rather creative swears in the process until, finally, they were done.

"VICTORY!" Natsu shouted, collapsing on to the bed.

"Natsu-kun, please calm down." Juvia asked, though she had a big smile on her face too.

"No way! Two hours, Juvia! Two. Hours. This is a win."

"Yes it is, but now that we won, we should get ready to go home."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Starting to miss the guild, and Happy's probably going crazy with Luce." Natsu said. Juvia chuckled and the two gathered all their belongings and went down to the lobby.

"Juvia, these things look like they're gonna pop real soon."

"Please don't jinx it, Natsu-kun."

"I'm sorry but I can feel this thing trying to open. And it probably will on the way back."

"What if we take the train?"

"What?!"

"It's the only option, Natsu-kun."

"But, but Juvia! The train is evil!"

"Juvia knows, Natsu-kun."

"Uugggh, fine! But I won't like it."

"Juvia won't either." She reminded. Natsu groaned.

"Alright, let's find the damn station. Sooner we do, sooner we can get it over with."

"Agreed."

* * *

"I just got word from Juvia. She and Natsu are coming back by train so they should be back soon." Mira told the rest of the guild.

"The train? Why would Natsu agree to that?" Levy asked.

"Juvia doesn't like em either, messes with her water body." Gajeel added.

"She said it's because they want to get back quicker but I heard Natsu in the background complaining about all the stuff Juvia bought." Mira explained. Gajeel smirked.

"Yeah, that sounds like her alright."

"So when can we expect them?" Levy asked.

"I'd say about a half hour."

"Alright, half hour till we get new stuff." Cana grinned.

"Cana!"

"I'm kidding, Mira."

* * *

"Ju- Juvia… save, hurk, me…" Natsu pleaded weakly. The two mages were on the train back to Magnolia, and neither one of them were enjoying it.

"Juvia is sorry, but she is busy." Juvia strained out. Her eyes were closed shut in concentration to keep her water body together.

"Attention passengers, we're now pulling into magnolia station." The instant the train stopped, Natsu sprung up from his seat, grabbed their bags and bolted out of the train, leaving Juvia behind, and somewhat confused.

"That fast?" Juvia wondered.

"C'mon, Juvia! The guild's waiting!" Natsu said, rushing off. Juvia stood there, watching the trail of dust Natsu left in his wake before realizing she'd been ditched.

"Natsu-kun! Wait for Juvia!"

* * *

The guild hall was abuzz with talk and laughter, the norm for Fairy Tail. Levy was reading, Gajeel was eating, Jet and Droy were glaring, Cana was drinking, and Mira was behind the counter getting Gray some food. Everyone's attention was shifted when the doors slammed open, revealing Natsu with his leg raised and Juvia standing next to him.

"We're back!" Natsu shouted. Everyone in the guild roared their greetings and ushered them inside. Natsu quickly started telling everyone about their adventure and how they beat the fire kraken while Juvia was rifling through her bags to give the girls their gifts.

"Juvia! I've been looking for this book for ages, thank you so much!" Levy quickly gave Juvia a giant hug. Or as giant as someone of Levy's height could manage.

"Levy-san is welcome. And Juvia brought Cana-san back a bottle of wine, it's a specialty in Hargeon." As Juvia gave Cana her gift, she planted a kiss on Juvia's cheek, making Juvia blush a deep red.

"Cana loves Juvia-chan!"

"So Juvia sends the thing flying in the air with huge explosion, and I'm up there and bring it down with my firing hammer." Natsu tells the guild, acting the fight out.

"She did what now?"

"I know! Juvia's a badass, man!"

"Damn right she is, fire freak." Gajeel said.

"You wanna go, metal head!?" Natsu challenged. Gajeel grinned and cracked his knuckles.

"Oh, I've been itching to give you a good beating!" Gajeel launched an iron pole at Natsu, who dodged and threw a fire ball back at him.

"Well, it seems like they're just as lively as ever. Gray?" Mira asked herself, as Gray left the bar and went towards the fight.

"Geehee, looks like frosty wants to join in." Gajeel motioned behind Natsu, who turned to meet Gray.

"Hah, took you long enough, ice pr-" before Natsu could finish his taunt, Gray gave Natsu a brutal sucker punch, knocking the Fire mage down. The entire guild went silent. Natsu quickly got back up and glared at Gray.

"The hell is your problem?!" Natsu, fist aflame, was about to retaliate when he saw the look in Gray's eye and he knew he wasn't going to defend himself. Natsu's fire went out and he stared at Gray.

"You good now?"

"Yeah." Gray answered. Natsu nodded.

"You know I'm gonna get you back for that." Gray grinned.

"Looking forward to it."

"Not to interrupt you two making lovey-dovey eyes at each other, but we gonna get back to this?" The two turned to face Gajeel, who was growing impatient with the lack of fighting going on.

"Later, metal head. Gotta go see my partners." Natsu said, gathering his bags and heading out.

"Juvia, let's go on another job soon."

"Juvia would love to, Natsu-kun." Natsu waved at the guild and left to go home.

"Oi, frosty. What about you, pick up where he left off?" Gajeel asked. Gray paused before answering.

"Another time. Gotta take care of something."

"Tch, pansy." Gajeel grumbled. He saw Gray walk over to Juvia and smirked. "About damn time."

"Hey, Juvia?" Juvia spun to face Gray, her face flushed red.

"Gray-sama!" Gray would never admit it, but he kinda missed that.

"Heh, relax Juvia."

"Juvia will try. Does Gray-sama need anything?"

"No, just uh, wanted to talk with you, if that's ok?"

"It is more than ok!"

"Remember what I said about relaxing?" Gray reminded. Juvia tried to calm down.

"So, uh, how was the job? Natsu didn't hold you back too much, did he?"

"Not at all, he was very reliable. Juvia is glad she got to know him better."

"Great…" Gray said but he was thinking more along the lines of ' _dammit, Natsu!'_

Juvia frowned. "Is everything ok, Gray-sama?"

"Huh? Ye-yeah. Listen, it's getting kinda late so what do you say we continue this tomorrow? Hang out, just the two of us." Gray asked. Juvia's face went so red that it put Erza's hair to shame. Gray swore he could see steam come out of her ears.

"Is- is Gray-sama asking Juvia out on a d-date?"

"Not a date, but just us hanging out, talking, catching up. I hear Saber-tooth's town is pretty nice this time of year."

"Juvia would love to!" Juvia said. Gray smiled at her enthusiasm.

"Great. I'll, uh, I'll pick you up tomorrow?"

"Juvia can't wait!" Juvia then bolted out of the guild, no doubt to get ready for the next day, leaving Gray slightly bewildered but smiling.

"Mira! Gray finally asked Juvia out, another round to celebrate!" Cana yelled. Gray snapped his fingers and froze her drink, causing a block of beer to hit her in the face.

"Hey!"

"Later guys." Gray grinned and waved goodbye to the guild.

"You get back here and un-freeze my drink, asshole!"

 **(A/N. And there it is, the final (main) chapter of Steam Powered. I hope you all enjoyed the story and thank you to everyone who stuck with it. While the main story of Steam Powered is done, there will be an epilogue that I will post tomorrow. It's not my usual chapter length but it is full of Nalu goodness. For those of you who will check it out, I recommend you re-read chapter 2. There's gonna be a pretty nice call back. Like always, please leave a review if you can, they always make my day.)**

 **(A/N number 2. So there was a little hiccup in which I posted this yesterday and it never showed up so I'm posting it again and considering that, the Nalu epilogue will be posted tomorrow to keep a sense of consistency.)**


	8. Epilogue

**Epilogue- I'm home**

"Happy? Luce? I'm back!" Natsu called out to the apartment. He'd dropped most of the stuff back at his place but brought a small bag with him. Natsu closed the door behind him and could hear the soft patter of wings fluttering downstairs. He turned to see a blue cat flying towards him. Happy plumped into Natsu, who eagerly caught him.

"Natsuuuuuuu! I missed you!"

"Hey, buddy. I'm back. How was our patient?"

"She was super sick, Natsu. But I got her all better."

"You did? Great job!" Natsu praised, giving Happy a high five.

"Yup! All, all she needed was fish." Happy yawned.

"Sounds like someone's tired?"

"Aye. Lucy's been keeping me up." Happy explained. The Exceed's eyes began to flutter. Natsu smiled.

"Maybe we should get you some sleep." Natsu suggested. Happy nodded.

"Aye." Natsu set Happy down on the couch and covered him with a throw blanket that he'd heated up a bit to keep him warm. Natsu scratched Happy's ears and smiled. Natsu made sure that Happy was tucked in and headed upstairs and knocked on the door.

"Hey, Luce? You up?"

"Natsu? Is that you?" Natsu smiled and entered. Lucy was in her pajamas, sitting in bed, reading a book. Her cheeks were a bit flushed but she smiled on seeing Natsu.

"I'm back."

"Welcome back."

"I put Happy asleep downstairs."

"Good, he's been working hard taking care of me."

"How are you feeling?"

"Better. Happy's a great doctor."

"Yeah, his fish soup works wonders." Lucy chuckled.

"How was the job?" Lucy asked. She scooted over so that Natsu could sit. He took a seat on the bed next to her.

"It was fun. Got to fight a Fire Kraken."

"I heard. Sorcerer did a whole spread on you and Juvia. Looks like you two got pretty close."

"Yeah, Juvia's awesome, you know she sliced the things tentacles clean off? And blasted it sky high."

"Wow, sounds like I might have some competition." Lucy joked.

"Competition? For what?"

"For being your partner."

"Never, Luce. Juvia's great and all but she's with Gray, kinda. And besides, you're mine." Natsu said, making Lucy blush.

"Wh-what do you m-mean?" Lucy stammered.

"I mean that you're my partner."

"Oh, I thought you meant... never mind." Natsu raised a curious eyebrow before he realized what she meant. Then it was his turn to blush.

"Oh, yeah... that... yeah..."

"So uh, what else happened on the job?" Lucy asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Uh, not much, run in to some bandits but they weren't any trouble. Did you know that Juvia started learning magic at four years old?"

"Really? That's impressive."

"I know, right? And guess what."

"What?" Lucy asked. Natsu frowned.

"C'mon, Lucy. You gotta guess, otherwise it's no fun." Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Uhhh, she's also a dragon slayer?"

"No, but we did hear about a water dragon slayer from this old man."

"Really? Are they still around?" Natsu shook his head.

"No, she was around like 50 years ago but she died. She was like Laxus and Cobra, had a dragon lacrima put in her." Natsu explained.

"A second generation dragon slayer?" Lucy reminded.

"That's the one!"

"A shame she's not around anymore. Did the guy give you a name?"

"Guy said it was something like Wanda. But keep guessing."

"Natsu! I already guessed, just tell me!"

"Fine, jeez. Take all the fun out of it. You remember that Bora guy? The one pretending to be me?"

"Of course, he's the reason we met. I'd never forget that." Natsu, blushed slightly at that.

"Well, yeah… him. Juvia said she used to date him." Lucy's eyes went wide.

"You're joking!"

"Nope, she told me herself. She said he wasn't even a good mage back then either."

"That doesn't surprise me, I think could've taken him back then."

"You would've wrecked him, Luce."

"You think so?"

"Hell yeah. You're awesome."

"Even back then?"

"Yeah, back then. But you're even more awesome now." Lucy's cheeks turned pink.

"Aww, Natsu. You're gonna make me blush."

"Aren't you already?"

"Shut up." Natsu laughed as Lucy shoved him. She then noticed the bag in his hand. "What's that?"

"Oh, this is something I got for you."

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"I know. I wanted to." Natsu took out the box from the bag and opened it to reveal a silver necklace that had a grey coloured metal fixture at the end. In the metal piece there was a lacrima with a pulsing orange glow. Lucy took in a sharp breath on seeing it.

"Natsu, it's beautiful." She whispered. Natsu gave the necklace to her and she looked at it closely.

"Juvia helped me pick it out."

"She has a good eye."

"The old man who sold it to me said this was Lemurian metal."

"Isn't that supposed to be extremely rare? Natsu, this must have cost you a fortune."

"Not really. The guy gave me a discount because we beat the Kraken."

"Still, even with that it must have been expensive. You really shouldn't have."

"Yeah, I did. I'm, uh, invested?" Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"Invested?"

"Yeah, I think I'm using that right?"

"And you call me weirdo."

"Shut up." This time Natsu shoved her and they both laughed.

"Help me put this on?" Lucy asked, holding the necklace. Natsu nodded and she turned around and moved her hair out of the way while Natsu tried to clasp the necklace together.

"You ok back there?"

"Not like I've done this before. I think… I… got it!" Natsu exclaimed as he clasped it together.

"Congratulations, you managed to defeat a necklace."

"Tougher than Bora." Natsu snarked, making Lucy laugh. She turned around.

"How does it look?" Natsu smiled softly.

"It looks great." Lucy returned the smile and held the lacrima. She was surprised when she found it giving off warmth.

"Natsu, why is the Lacrima warm?" Natsu grinned.

"Oh, that's the cool part. The old man said that the lacrima could hold a few kinds of magic. This one has mine."

"Yours?"

"Yup. That's my fire. Keep it safe for me, yeah?" Natsu asked, giving his trademark grin. Lucy reached forward and engulfed Natsu in a hug, one that he was more than happy to return.

"Welcome home." Lucy said. Natsu could feel a warmth in his chest, whether from the lacrima pressing against his chest or from something else, he didn't know. Natsu did know that she meant welcome back to Magnolia but he couldn't help but think about the fact that Happy was peacefully asleep downstairs, not a worry in the world, and here he was with Lucy, hugging her in her room, taking in her scent, enjoying the. He smiled and rubbed her back.

"Yeah, I'm home."

 **(A/N. Well that's the end everyone. I hope you all enjoyed Steam Powered as much as I enjoyed writing it, which is to say a lot. Thank's to everyone who stuck with me on this, even through those months I didn't update. Like always, please leave a review if you enjoyed and I hope I didn't do too bad for my first Fairy Tail fanfic.)**


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